[Loch-Ruadh] word of the day

[Jane Sitton]

The Word of the Day for October 8 is:  manqué * \mahn-KAY\ * (adjective):
short of or frustrated in the fulfillment of one's aspirations or talents --
used postpositively.

Example sentence:  "It was Benjamin Franklin, a natural scientist manqué if
ever there was one, who observed that 'in this world nothing can be said to
be certain, except death and taxes.'"  (Will Self, New Statesman, November
27, 1998)

Did you know?  The etymology of "manqué" is likely to vex left-handers.
English speakers picked up "manqué" directly from French more than two
centuries ago, and it ultimately comes from Latin "manco," meaning "having
either hand crippled."  But in between the Latin and French portions of this
word's history came the Italian word "manco," which means both "lacking" and
"left-handed."  Lefties may be further displeased to learn that "manqué"
isn't the only English word with a history that links left-handedness with
something undesirable.  For example, the word "awkward" comes from "awke," a
Middle English word meaning both "turned the wrong way" and "left-handed."
And the noun "gawk" ("a clumsy stupid person") probably comes from an
English dialect "gawk" meaning "left-handed."